The present invention relates to the field of postal delivery and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for positioning postal items therein.
Over the years, postal delivery traditionally has been viewed as an honorable field of service to the local communities and the country. Because good postal delivery has been recognized as important to our society, federal laws also have made tampering with mail or interfering with postal duties criminal conduct. These laws for many years greatly inhibited individuals from tampering with or stealing mail from mail boxes, porches, or doorways of residential and commercial customers.
As our society has developed over the years, the mail service has continued to deliver valuable items to residential and commercial customers. Requirements for improved speed of delivery and improved technology has allowed overnight carriers to arise and develop large industries around postal delivery services. Despite the federal criminal laws and the improvements in technology, the postal delivery industry more recently has become and remains hampered by increased criminal conduct related to interfering with, tampering with, or stealing postal items delivered to customers. This criminal conduct is further exacerbated by the overnight and quick delivery of letters and parcels for mail boxes, for example, not equipped to receive them, not equipped to inhibit access by those with criminal intentions, and not equipped to provide a ready drop-off location for postal carriers.
Additionally, for example, the catalog sales and delivery and home shopping television network industries have increased dramatically over the years and particularly with the rise of the quality, less cost, and improved reliability of overnight carrier services. These catalog sales and delivery and home shopping services are used by a variety of residential and commercial customers which often are not at home or are away from their business when a postal delivery occurs. For protection of the letter or parcel being delivered from those with criminal intentions and from various weather conditions, the postal carrier often leaves a note on the door or in a location for the resident or business to find which requires that the resident call to pick up the package or call for a more convenient time of delivery. This process, however, delays receipt of the letter or parcel by the customer and to a certain extent defeats the purpose of overnight or quick delivery ordered by the customer. These problems have caused many customers to rent or lease mailbox services, but these can be expensive and require a customer to travel away from a home or business to pick up a parcel delivery.
With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a postal delivery apparatus and method sized for delivery of letters and larger parcels to residential and commercial customers and which inhibits access to the contents of a delivery container by those with criminal intentions.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a postal delivery apparatus and method which allows postal carriers to easily and readily deliver letters and larger parcels into a delivery container which inhibits access by unauthorized individuals and without extensive delay in the delivery time.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a postal delivery apparatus and method which inhibits damage to contents from various weather conditions to which the postal delivery apparatus may be exposed.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a postal delivery apparatus and method which inhibits access by unauthorized individuals including children.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a postal delivery apparatus and method which inhibits removal and transport of the postal delivery apparatus from a mounting surface.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a postal delivery apparatus and method having structural strength, being readily manufactured in high volume, and being less expensive than many alternatives.
A postal delivery apparatus and method for more securely delivering and removing parcels of residential and/or commercial customers is provided according to the present invention. For security conscious people, for example, the postal delivery apparatus allows postal carriers to easily and readily deliver letters and larger parcels into a delivery container which inhibits access by unauthorized individuals, including children, and without extensive delay in the delivery time. For example, the postal delivery apparatus also advantageously does not require postal delivery personnel to carry a key or other device to access parcel delivery compartments, particularly for larger parcels which are often shipped by catalog companies to customers. The apparatus also inhibits damage to contents from various weather conditions to which the postal delivery apparatus may be exposed such as when positioned on a porch or patio of a residential customer. Because of the usage of the apparatus, the postal delivery apparatus further has structural strength, is readily manufactured in high volume, and is less expensive than many alternatives.
More particularly, a postal delivery apparatus according to the present invention preferably has a base including a bottom, a plurality of outer walls connected to and extending upwardly from the bottom, a substantially hollow portion positioned within inner confines of the bottom and the outer walls so as to define an inner cavity, and an open upper end positioned for providing access to the inner cavity. At least one of the plurality of outer walls preferably includes a wall opening formed therein for inserting letter-type parcels through the wall opening into the inner cavity of the base. The wall opening preferably is sized and positioned for inhibiting access by a user to letter-type parcels positioned in the inner cavity. A partition is positioned between the plurality of outer walls so as to divide the inner cavity into a first compartment positionally aligned with the wall opening for inserting letter-type parcels therein through the wall opening and a second compartment for inserting larger box-type parcels therein through the open upper end of the base. An outer lid is pivotally connected to upper peripheries of the base, and the outer lid is positioned to overlie the open end of the base and abuttingly contact upper peripheries of the base when in a closed position and positioned to extend upwardly away from the base when in an open position so as to provide access to the first and second compartments through the open end.
Also, the first compartment of a parcel delivery apparatus according to the present invention preferably may have upper portions positionally aligned with the wall opening and have an increased distance between the at least one of the plurality of outer walls and the partition. This increased distance advantageously provides increased lateral depth to upper portions of the first compartment for more easily inserting letter-type parcels through the wall opening into the first compartment. The position and configuration of the base of the apparatus, including the first and second compartments and the wall opening, advantageously inhibits damage to parcels positioned within the compartments from various weather conditions such as rain or snow and provides structural strength and rigidity to the apparatus during usage.
A parcel delivery apparatus according to the present invention further may have child access inhibiting means, e.g., an access inhibiting device, associated at least with the outer lid for inhibiting child access into the base. The access inhibiting device according to the present invention preferably includes child opening inhibiting means for inhibiting opening of the outer lid by a child, child inhibiting closing means for closing the outer lid so as to inhibit child access to at least one of the compartments, e.g., preferably the second compartment or the compartment receiving larger packages, and locking means for securely locking the outer lid so as to inhibit unauthorized access to at least one of the second compartments.
For example, the access inhibiting device may include a rotatable control knob sized so as to be difficult to rotate by a child""s hand and preferably includes knob activating means for activating the knob, e.g., compressing the knob, to facilitate the rotating of the knob to an open position to disengage a latch on the outer lid. Once the outer lid is open, a larger-type parcel can be positioned into the second compartment. When the control knob is released, it may return to a closed position. The outer lid can then be released, and the outer lid can be securely closed. When the outer lid is closed, the control knob is also preferably rotatable to a locked position by an adult such as a postal delivery carrier for inhibiting unauthorized access to at least the second compartment. A postal customer using the parcel delivery apparatus can then unlock the outer lid by inserting a key into, or by other lock deactivating means, the access inhibiting device and the control knob can releasably return to the closed position. The postal customer can then return the control knob to the open position and open the lid for removal of the delivered parcel.
Additionally, for permanently or semi-permanently mounting of a postal delivery apparatus, the apparatus preferably includes base securing means connected to the base for securing the base to inhibit removal and transport of the base such as from a mounting surface. In a first embodiment of the base securing means according to the present invention, the base securing means advantageously inhibits removal and transport of the postal delivery apparatus from a mounting surface such as a porch or patio of residential customers by securing the bottom of the base directly to the upper surface of the porch or patio. In a second embodiment of the base securing means according to the present invention, the base securing means advantageously includes tethering means for tethering the base to a doorway. The tethering means, for example, may include a cable having one end secured to the base and having the other end positioned under a closed door with an enlarged member, e.g., weight, ball, secured to the other end.
The present invention advantageously also provides methods of delivering parcels to and removing parcels from a parcel delivery container. A method preferably includes providing a parcel delivery container having a base including at least one parcel delivery compartment, an outer lid pivotally mounted to the base, and an access inhibiting device associated with the base and the outer lid for inhibiting unauthorized access to the at least one parcel delivery compartment. The access inhibiting device is positioned from a closed position to an open position and the outer lid is opened to position a parcel into the at least one delivery compartment. The method also includes positioning the access inhibiting device to a closed position, securely closing the outer lid, and positioning the access inhibiting device to a locked position to lock the outer lid to the base.
Another method of delivering parcels to and removing parcels from a parcel delivery container according to the present invention preferably includes providing a parcel delivery container having a base including a bottom, a plurality of outer walls connected to and extending upwardly from the bottom, a substantially hollow portion positioned within inner confines of the outer walls so as to define an inner cavity having at least one parcel delivery compartment, and an open upper end positioned for providing access to the inner cavity. At least one of the plurality of outer walls includes a wall opening formed therein for inserting letter-type parcels through the wall opening into the inner cavity of the base. The wall opening is preferably sized and positioned for inhibiting access by a user to letter-type parcels positioned in the inner cavity. An outer lid is preferably pivotally mounted to the base for providing access to the inner cavity. The at least one parcel delivery compartment has upper portions positionally aligned with the wall opening and has a greater lateral depth than lower portions of the at least one parcel delivery compartment. The method further includes inserting at least distal portions of a letter-type parcel along a generally horizontal path through the wall opening and into at least portions of the at least one parcel delivery compartment and releasing the letter-type parcel so that the at least distal portions of the letter-type parcel extend downwardly into lower portions of the at least one parcel delivery compartment.